


Smiling Cat

by Between_A_Dream



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst, Death, F/F, Poor Calamity Jane, sorta happy ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 19:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11904657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Between_A_Dream/pseuds/Between_A_Dream
Summary: Nedley recruits Waverly in an investigation to find out why his best deputy is suddenly so reserved, and it leads her somewhere that quite possibly breaks her own heart as much as it does Nicole's.





	Smiling Cat

**Author's Note:**

> Requested on Tumblr by coffeewithemmett on Tumblr. This was so sad and I cried writing it :( But at least everyone understands and is there for Nicole in her time of need! Poor Calamity :(

The first thing that clued Randy Nedley in that something was off was the sudden shift in demeanor of his best deputy. Of course, he was never the prying type, and he wasn't one to interfere with other people's business, but when his trained eye saw the red haired officer's body tension and fake smile, he was pretty sure that something was wrong. Which, big surprise, something was _always_ wrong in Purgatory. But not with his second in command.  
  
And it wasn't just for a day. No, this was for _three_ days in a row now, where Nicole was all false laughs and high pitched short responses, and overall a poorly concealed bottle of feelings. And that wasn't the only thing that was unusual.  
  
Cat hair. It was usually _everywhere_  in Nicole's office when she would show up for a shift, because- As he knew first hand- Calamity Jane was a cuddler, and being in uniform made no difference to the feline. Nedley was well aware that the young woman was powerless against her orange tabby's wishes, which usually left him the daunting task of cleaning up the fallen strands of ginger fur. Which, with anyone else, he would have minded, but his heart was growing a soft spot for the auburn haired officer. Of course, he'd never admit that _out loud_ , though he was pretty sure most people knew anyways. But, since that first day he'd noticed the shift in Nicole's behavior, the cat hair hadn't shown up, not a single strand.  
  
Nedley couldn't lie about the fact that the idea of public affection was a bit uncomfortable for him, especially from one of his own officers. And it wasn't that he had a problem with Nicole's sexuality. He'd never been the judgmental type, not about anything like that, but normally romance interfered with duty, and that was him speaking from experiences with some of his older officers. But, he couldn't deny that on days where his deputy would recieve visits from Waverly, her productivity was through the roof. And usually he would recieve some form of "Have a good night sir!" as a called out farewell when she left her shift, normally to rush to meet her girlfriend for some plan or another that they had. But that too had changed, and for the past few days he had only seen Nicole slump out of the office with her head low and her shoulders sagging, even after spending her lunch break with the younger of the Earp sisters on the last.  
  
Which is why he was currently standing outside the homestead, knocking on the door at 11:00 at night in the chilled February air. Wynonna was the first to answer, a rag slung over her shoulder, a bottle in her hand, and a five month old Wiley Earp cradled in her arms gurgling at him. She cocked an eyebrow at him and leaned against the door frame.  
  
"Howdy sheriff, to what do I owe this honor of a visit from Purgatory's finest?" she teased, and he forced himself not to roll his eyes. Wynonna Earp was certainly a pain in his ass at times, and being a mother had no damper on her sarcasm, but there were different times and places to complain about it.  
  
"I was actually hoping to speak with Waverly, if she's here," he informed the mother. Her eyes went defensive immediately, but before she could snap on him he held up a hand to stop her. "She's not in trouble or anything, there's just something I want to ask her about," he clarified. Her gaze remained suspicious and she kept her eyes trained firmly on the sheriff, but she let him inside regardless.  
  
"Waves! You've got some company from our local law enforcement!" she called up the stairs, knowing that she would get her sister down them faster if she didn't give away that the officer in waiting was not her red haired lover. Nedley seemed to pick up on this and he shot her a look, but he kept his mouth shut, knowing that any fire he could send the woman's way she could turn around and send back with five times as much snark and sass. Sure enough, the younger Earp had practically thrown herself down the stairs, and she did her best to hide her disappointment when she saw who her "company" was, or rather, was not.  
  
"Uh, hi sheriff. Is everything alright?" she asked, and suddenly her mind began churning. "Oh god, is Nicole okay? Did something happen? Was there an accident?" Nedley was quick to dismiss her fears with a vigorous shake of the head, and she settled down a bit.  
  
"No, officer Haught is fine, er... She's in one piece, anyways. That's actually why I'm here. She seems... Off, lately. She's been acting differently, and her reports in the office are way behind her usual schedule. Is everything alright between the two of you? I know your relationship status isn't my business, but I can't think of why she suddenly seems so guarded," he explained. Waverly sighed and nodded, running a hand through her long hair.  
  
"No no, I've noticed too. She won't let me even go over to her house anymore, not for the past few days. She keeps making excuses to come here, or at least why we shouldn't go there. I've been meaning to ask her about it but... Well you know her," the brunette didn't need to clarify any further for the sheriff to understand and he nodded. He knew full well how bullheaded the young deputy could be, that if something was wrong she wouldn't open up about it easily, and he knew damn well why. She'd told him not long after he'd employed her about her lack of contact with her parents, and her only explanation as to why was saying they didn't see eye to eye on who she was. It was only later, after she and Waverly began dating, that he fully understood what that meant, and one of the reasons why he felt such a strong sense of protection over her. He considered the younger woman almost to be a second daughter.  
  
"Do you think it has something to do with her parents?" it was Wynonna who made the suggestion, and the two other occupants of the room looked up at her in question. "I mean, maybe they said something to her, and she's upset about it. Or maybe it's a birthday or a special anniversary that she celebrated with her family."  
  
"That's... Actually not a terrible theory," Waverly realized, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Jeez, you say that like I've never MET the woman before. We ARE friends you know," Wynonna rolled her eyes, holding the bottle to Wiley's mouth as he winced.  
  
"Well, if it _is_  about her parents, it's definitely not because they said something to her. I don't even think they have her number anymore. They sure don't answer when she calls," Nedley sighed, trying not to let his mind go back to the time he watched her try to dial their number, and sitting with her as she let it ring until the call ended itself. It was just to prove that her parents really weren't in contact with her, so she could list Shay as her next of kin instead. She'd done her best to hide the heartbreak on her face but there wasn't much use, and it was from that moment on that his feelings for the younger woman went from being her boss to being her father figure.  
  
"Whatever is bothering Haughtstuff, I'm sure you two can team up and figure it out," Wynonna encouraged, rocking Wiley slightly in her arms as he cooed up at her.  
  
"Maybe we could just head over? See what's the matter?" Waverly suggested.  
  
"Eh, I think I better leave that to you. I'm not so good with the whole..." he trailed off, searching for a way to explain.  
  
"Having actual feelings?" Wynonna finished for him, a cheeky grin on her face. He rolled his eyes but said nothing in response, and instead turned to the younger of the two women in front of him.  
  
"If you find out what's wrong, just let me know she's alright, okay?" he asked. Seeing the sheer concern in his eyes, concern that was not dissimilar to her own, Waverly nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder. He couldn't hold back the shaky breath as he turned and exited the house, but he pretended like it didn't happen anyway.

* * *

Waverly didn't bother knocking on Nicole's door, and instead used the key she'd been given a few months back, knowing if she made her presence known her girlfriend would have time to put on a fake smile and pretend everything was fine when it clearly wasn't. The living room was dark, as it appeared was the rest of the house, and there wasn't even a familiar meow of greeting from Calamity Jane as she walked inside.  
  
"Nicole? Baby?" she called out, not wanting to completely startle the officer. She heard shuffling from upstairs, and she quickly acceded the steps. "Nicole?" she tried again, proceeding cautiously down the hallway towards the bedroom at the end, where there was a small, dim light shimmering through the crack between the floor and the bottom of the door. She knocked as she opened the door, pushing it back slowly to see a pile of blankets and sheets curled up in the middle of the bed, surrounded by pillows. "Nicole," Waverly laughed softly, taking off her jacket and setting it down on the dresser before walking towards the bed, climbing up on top and placing a delicate hand on where she assumed to be the ginger woman's shoulder. She felt Nicole flinch and tense under her touch, and she pulled back the blankets to reveal her girlfriend's shaking form, curled into a ball and crying into a pillow.  
  
"Nicole!" she gasped, throwing the blankets the rest of the way off Nicole's body and pulling the taller woman into her arms, holding her close as she broke down. Her sobs were heavy and loud, and Waverly could feel her letting go. She didn't push, instead whispered soft comforts of nothing in her ear, peppered light kisses to her forehead, and gently ran her fingers through the short auburn tresses. She could feel the way Nicole's entire frame was shaking violently and she clung to Waverly as if her life depended on it, her face buried in the fabric of the brunette's t-shirt. They sat like that for awhile, unsure of how long had really passed by the time she pulled back and sniffled hard, roughly rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands, partially covered by her long sleeved Purgatory SD Softball shirt.  
  
"Nicole, baby, it's okay, I'm here," Waverly leaned back and gently pulled her hands back so she could carefully wipe away the remaining tears on the policewoman's reddened face, rough and dry from the saltwater. "Talk to me," she prompted cautiously, cupping Nicole's cheek in her hand. She felt a wave of relief wash over her when she felt the officer lean into the touch, but it took awhile for her to gain the courage to speak.  
  
"She's dead," the words were barely audible even in the silence of the room, and if Waverly had been any further away she wasn't sure if she'd have even heard them.  
  
"Who?" she asked, panic rising in her chest as to who Nicole could have been referring to. Her sister? Shae? Someone else from her past?  
  
"C- Calamity Jane... She... She h-had a... Some kind of kidney failure..." she choked out, her eyes watering and the tears bubbling back up to the surface. She let out another loud sob and curled into herself, bringing her knees up to her chest, and Waverly felt her heart shatter. No wonder she hadn't been greeted when she first walked into the house, and no wonder Nicole had been so different the past few days.  
  
"Oh my god... Baby... I'm so sorry," Waverly's voice cracked as she uttered out the words, bringing the ginger back into her arms and holding her tightly. If this had been someone else, some other person with some other cat, it would have been different. But, this was Nicole, and this was Calamity Jane.  
  
Calamity Jane, who had been there for Nicole since she was a teenager. Who was there when she came out to her parents and was disowned. Who had been there through her struggles to put herself through the academy. Who had been there through her marriage to Shae, all the years she'd spent pushing herself to be the best she could be in the academy, the move to a new town in a new country. The orange tabby had been the only constant in Nicole's life for so long, and now she was gone.  
  
"I... I know she was just a cat, b-but I..." Nicole trailed off, her lips quivering as she tried to explain.  
  
"Shh, shh, I know," Waverly silenced her with a kiss, keeping her close even after they broke apart. She wiped away a tear of her own and resumed running her fingers through her girlfriend's ginger curls. They stayed that way long into the night, staying close even as they slept.

* * *

_"Here lies Calamity Jane Haught. Beloved feline, companion, and friend for all her life. 2005-2017"_  
  
"You didn't have to do this," Nicole let out a sigh as she leaned against her girlfriend, but Waverly could see the relief shining through her eyes.  
  
"Of course I did. All beloved family pets have a spot here," she pressed a kiss to Nicole's forehead, looking around at her own fallen pets that surrounded the freshly placed makeshift gravestone for the orange tabby, complete with a lamented picture of the feline attached to the rock with hot glue. Waverly had suggested it would be a nice addition, and it was greatly appreciated.  
  
"Yeah Haughtstuff, and last time I checked, you're family," Wynonna nudged her from her opposite side, Wiley in her arms, who even at only a few months old managed to somehow seem as if he understood that it was a time for silence.  
  
"Thanks," she chuckled, though her voice caught in her throat and she had to swallow hard. "I guess this is really goodbye old girl," she knelt down and placed a hand on the top of the gravestone and let her head fall slightly.  
  
"Hey, it's okay," Waverly comforted, kneeling down beside her and wrapping an arm around the taller woman's waist, who nodded and leaned into her side.  
  
"Am I too late for the funeral?" a gruff voice sounded from behind them and the three women turned to see Nedley and Chrissy approaching, a bouquet of yellow and purple flowers in the older man's hand. Nicole felt a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips despite the situation and with Waverly's support she stood.  
  
"I invited them, figured you may want them here," Wynonna admitted with a small laugh. The officer shot her a grateful look and hugged the sheriff, who hugged her back despite his previously displayed discomfort with physical contact and emotion. There even appeared to be the hint of a tear forming in the corner of his eyes. Nicole released him after a moment and smiled gratefully at Chrissy, who shot her an understanding glance, and then wrapped her arms around Waverly's waist, leaning into her side as she stared down at the stone. Nedley placed the flowers in front of the grave and a hand on his deputy's shoulder, coughing twice to hide any sign of sadness. Wynonna chuckled softly and rubbed his shoulder, and he looked up at her appreciatively.  
  
They stood like that as the sun went down, watching the colors of the sky dance as they darkened into the black of night, their light being replaced by the illumination of the stars above. Maybe there was even a new star, a free spirit shining down on her owner and smiling. Well, as much as a cat could manage to smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys thought! I know it was sad :(


End file.
